


Love is Not a Game

by SassyMcWinchester



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Humor, Angst with a Happy Ending, Another story, Blood and Violence, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, References to Depression, Self-Insert, Spoilers for V's route, and i couldnt resist writing about it, another story gave me a lot of fucking feelings, fight me in the burger king parking lot about it i dare you, if the fucking elixir counts as a drug which it does in my world, let MC say fuck, listen guys this is a self indulgent fic, literally this is myself, me and V are gonna live happily ever after
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-14
Updated: 2018-03-13
Packaged: 2019-03-31 03:30:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13966413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SassyMcWinchester/pseuds/SassyMcWinchester
Summary: Emily, an independent, hobbyist artist, is approached through her phone to test a game for a mysterious app developer. She soon realizes that the organization she has been thrust into is much more than a game and is, in fact, very real. While uncovering secrets of the members of this "RFA", she falls for one particular member by the name of V. Based off of "Another Story" from Mystic Messenger, this is an alternate take on V's Route from the game.





	Love is Not a Game

**Author's Note:**

> So, as a disclaimer, since this is the technical prologue of "Another Story", I wanted this chapter to remain similar to the source material; this means that some of the the chats, phone calls, and Ray's dialogue are the same as the game. This was to set up the premise, and after this point, I will be diverting from the original chats for them to suit Emily's character. I hope you enjoy!

The apartment was warm, the sunlight cascading in through the open windows and onto the floor. Bustling could be heard outside; the laughter of pairs and groups, conversations happening over the phone, and bicycle wheels whizzing by with their bells chirping. On the coffee table laid a pile of papers, slightly askew in the corner, a small candle placed in the middle that was unlit. Footsteps could be heard pacing around the three room-residence, going back and forth between the bedroom, the bathroom, and the living area. The woman entered her room once more, on the hunt for something, with a sketch pad underneath her right arm. With a focused frown on her face, she rummaged through her desk drawers to find a better eraser than the one that she currently held in her hand. The phone in her back pocket was playing a tune off of Youtube that she had set on repeat, but during this search for her art supplies, the magic of her “art song” had worn off. She was merely too lazy to change the tune to something different.

            “The one time I actually have the motivation to do anything regarding art, I can’t find my special eraser.” She began to whine. “I know it’s around here somewhere. It’s the only one that doesn’t put tears in the paper…”

            After another few groans of frustration, she found it in the corner, hiding behind her coin bank shaped like a cat. With a sigh, she walked out of her bedroom, finally ready to go, and she placed a chair in front of her open window. Through this window, she always had a clear view of her neighbors across the street, the market that lined the sidewalks on the weekends, and the people that frequently strolled either alone or in groups. Because today was a Saturday morning, the farmers’ market was flourishing one floor below. This spot, its second-floor height a great advantage, was perfect for people watching and figure sketching. She placed her phone on a side table that she pulled up next to her, a new series of songs selected to play, and opened her sketchpad to a new sheet of paper. Her initial plan was to sketch figures before molding the poses into the characters she created herself. After around an hour of trying to accomplish this, she began growing frustrated. The poses themselves were fine, it was about manipulating her character around that skeleton form that sometimes gave her issues. What made matters worse, which was honestly something minor, her phone’s music kept shutting off or making strange noises, as if it were malfunctioning.

            “Let me try this one more time.” She muttered to herself. “If I can just do the proportions of the antlers like this…” she sketched with her face too close to the paper. “And her hair…drapes like that…”

            She pulled her face away from the paper because she realized she was straining her eyes. When she pulled her eyes away and looked at the page, she sighed loudly, angrily.

            “Okay, screw it then, I’ll just work on her dress—”

            Her phone’s music cut out again and she whipped her head to the side to look at it, piercing hate in her gaze.

            “And YOU—” she picked the phone up to look at it.

            She was going to yell at her device, but then she stopped. There was an alert on the screen that read:

            _“_ _System update successfully installed. Restart immediately to resume your work._ _”_

“What?” she narrowed her eyes, perplexed. “I didn’t download that.” She looked up and at the wall, trying to remember. “Did I set it up to download automatically at this time?”

She looked at the phone again and tried ignoring the message. It popped up again, almost immediately.

“I need to switch to Android next time…” she mumbled, holding in the power button of her phone. “Fine, phone, have it your way. I can’t draw anyway.”

After giving the battery a few seconds to cool down, she restarted the phone. While the familiar white screen took over, she looked at the sketches she attempted in the last hour or so. This happened every time: as soon as she started, she hated everything that she put on the paper. She always made the joke, “I hate it because it’s mine”, but it always made her feel like she had no talent at all. Her negative thoughts were interrupted by her phone vibrating. Thinking it was time to put her passcode, she lifted her phone and pushed the home button, only for her to see she had a notification.

“What the fuck…” she whispered aloud.

Sliding to open it, she was brought to her messaging app, where she saw all of her past texts had been deleted. All that remained was the one she saw on her home screen.

**Unknown: Hi!**

Her heartbeat picked up. She didn’t want to tap it, she was worried that it was some sort of bug. If this was in fact a bug, she wanted to try protecting the rest of her phone until she sought out a professional. She was annoyed; she wasn’t planning on making a run to the phone store and drop a load of money to get her phone fixed. Why was the ID “unknown”? Was it a blocked number that somehow made it through? As if the sender was nervous, or was looking for a response, another message came through.

**Unknown: Finally, someone to talk to, thank god…**

She swallowed. Would this person continue to text her until she gave a response? Not wanting to find out, she decided she wanted to block their number. However, in order to do that, she had to tap on the message interface, enter the text dialogue, and then hit their information to block them. Taking a deep breath and holding it, she tapped their texts and entered the interface. So far so good, her phone hadn’t turned off or blown up. When she tapped their information, and later “block”, she was left more perplexed.

“ _Unable to block this caller.”_

“I can’t block them? What the hell?” she backtracked to the texting interface. “I could ignore them, but that might piss them off… What if I do know them and my phone’s just fucked up?” she asked herself.

She sighed.

**Emily: Sorry, but who is this?**

Her phone blacked out, immediately turning back on but with a different interface showing. She was unsure if she was still in her texting app, but the messages sent and received were still present, the background looking as if there was binary coding.

“What the fuck?!” she stood up and shouted.

Her hands were shaking. Had someone hacked her phone? She felt as if she were in an episode of _Criminal Minds_ and she was going to have to contact the FBI, only being too late and having her body folded up in a box like a marionette.

**Unknown: I’m an app developer,**

**Unknown: and this is a chat room I created.**

**Unknown: Hope I didn’t surprise you.**

**Unknown: Don’t be nervous. I’m just an “ordinary” person.**

A chatroom? So, this wasn’t in her texting app anymore, but something input on her phone? Her palms were sweating and her anxiety was slowly beginning to bubble up.

““Hope I didn’t surprise you” huh?” she asked herself. “How the fuck am I supposed to be, you know, not nervous?!”

She realized she had raised her voice and hoped that none of her neighbors were wondering what was going on.

**Emily: Why are you putting quotation marks around the word “ordinary”? If anything, it’s just making me even more nervous. The same goes with telling me NOT to be nervous.**

It felt insane to continue talking to this person, but she had to try and think rationally. If they had input a program like this on her phone, which they needed her information for in order to even _do,_ who knows what other kind of things they could do.

**Unknown: You’re funny lol**

“How is any of this funny?!” she shouted, pacing around her couch.

**Unknown: But I can’t really say I’m extraordinary when I’m introducing myself, can I?**

**Unknown: Shouldn’t I be humble and modest?**

**Unknown: In fact…I’m actually really excited!**

When they sent her that message, her face recoiled away from the screen. That statement was just making her _more_ nervous. As she cupped the phone in her hands, she looked up and continuously looked around the room to see if she was being watched. She even rushed to the open window, closed it, and shrouded any outside view with the curtains.

**Unknown: The first person to come in is you, Emily!**

**Unknown: I was so worried that nobody would come in as I was making this app.**

“They know my name, too?” she asked, now needing to take a seat on the couch. “I didn’t even download this app, it was an accident. They’re the one who put it on _my_ phone.” She tried calming herself down, but then had another thought. “Unless this is something similar to what U2 did.”

She remembered how a few years back, she woke up and a new album had been downloaded onto her phone without her knowledge or permission. If that was something that could be done by a band, maybe it wasn’t so outlandish for something to be done by an app developer, someone so familiar with technology.

**Emily: You have my attention, so I’ll bite. What is this app used for?**

**Unknown: Oh! I was just about to explain that to you!**

**Unknown: But before that, can I ask you a favor?**

**Unknown: Though I know this is too much to ask from a stranger, there is something I really want you to help me with.**

Emily’s stomach tightened. This was looking more and more sketchy with every message she received.

**Emily: It depends what that something is.**

**Unknown: Well, this app isn’t just a messenger app—it’s a messenger _game_ app. I wanted to ask you if you’d test it for me.**

**Unknown: Since I know you’re wondering, the game concept is that it’s a messenger full of pretty/good-looking guys that you get to chat with!**

“Shit, my weakness.” She said out loud. “If it doesn’t hurt my phone…I suppose it’s harmless.” She thought about how problematic her statement was. “If it doesn’t hurt ME I suppose it’s harmless.”

**Emily: Why do you need me to test the game? Like…me specifically. You can’t do this on your own? I apologize for all of the questions, this is all just very sudden.**

**Unknown: It’s okay, I knew you would have questions.**

**Unknown: I would be a biased player; it would be a win-win for the both of us if you played the game. You would enjoy the game and have fun, while I receive the feedback as the developer of the game, and I can achieve my goal.**

**Unknown: As far as why you were chosen…you were the first one to download the patch that I sent out to a number of active game-players I found in game data.**

She looked around her apartment as if there were eyes watching her, judging her, as she actually grappled with the thought of accepting the person’s offer. His means of contacting her, while sketchy, seemed harmless. If he had gotten her information from online gaming data, that would also make sense. Gaming companies do those things all the time to track when you play and what kind of loot boxes a person prefers. How was this…all that different? As if her response was taking too long, Unknown continued the conversation.

**Unknown: The chats aren’t everything, either. There are also hidden stories—amusing stories—that will stir your imagination!**

**Unknown: All I need you to do is to play the game and tell me your honest opinion.**

Unknown then proceeded to send her an image file with five individuals pictured, four were male and one was female. They explained that they were the characters she would be chatting with, and have the possibility of having a relationship with. They then made it an explicit point that the people pictured were AI, not real people. While that exclusive point made everything seem strange all over again, she figured it was due to the fact people really get sucked into those kinds of games, herself included.

**Unknown: So, what do you think?**

What was still itching at her was the means of compensation. If she was going to put time and effort into this, she was forced to think about the data consumption and the rocketing cost of her next phone bill. Not only that, but she had other bills to pay and pieces to work on. Once again, she felt as if the world was judging her for what she was about to respond with.

**Emily: The premise sounds interesting, and honestly this kind of thing is up my alley. I’m sorry to ask, but would there be any compensation for this? I know getting to test the game is a reward in itself, but I just want to know.**

She began to bite her nails, hoping she didn’t piss off the “developer” with her question. They replied almost immediately, which surprised her.

**Unknown: We can discuss this over the phone, if you don’t mind. It would be easier that way. So don’t freak out when you see an unknown number call you, okay?**

“Wait, what? I’m not prepared for a phone call, I don’t even know if I want to say yes to this yet—” she panicked to herself.

Her phone began to ring and vibrate at the same time, an unknown number appearing on the screen. Making loud, panicked noises to herself, she slid the button on the screen to answer, swallowing so she wouldn’t sound too nervous.

“Hello?” she answered, looking around her room.

Her face was scrunched in confusion and anxiety. She never did well on the phone with strangers.

_“Emily? It’s me, the one you were just chatting with.”_

It was a man with a calm voice. From his tone, she could tell he wasn’t angry from her previous questioning, which relieved her.

“You’re Unknown?” she answered.

He let out a lighthearted laugh.

_“Yes, I’m Unknown. I suppose I should change that for future reference.”_ His tone went from professional to light and casual. _“It’s a pleasure to be talking on the phone with you. I know this is probably simpler for you, and I hope it eases any stress I might have accidentally put you under.”_

“How did you get my number?” she asked. “I know you said you pulled my information from game logs, but…”

_“Ah, yes. It becomes dialable when you log onto the messenger, meaning that whoever else is on the messenger, like myself, will be able to call you. It’s only accessible via the messenger app.”_

“Okay…” she squinted in reply, even though he couldn’t see her. “So, you wanted to talk to me about the game?”

_“Yes.”_ He went back to being professional. _“If you remember those characters I sent you in the image, they will be your chatting partners. They are all a part of a group called the R.F.A. There is a tutorial that explains this, by the way, but that part is still being modified. The group holds fundraising parties, for charity. With your help, as their party coordinator, the next party can be possible. Of course, along the way, the relationship factor plays in depending on how your chats with the various characters go.”_

“Okay, that sounds interesting.” Her eyebrows raised again. “So I enter this group as a party coordinator and raise money for charity? That sounds like me.” She laughed to try to get the edge off. “I assume that I have to find guests to invite or something?”

He replied “wow!” in a surprised tone.

_“Are you a mind reader? I was just about to explain that part!”_ his voice was as bewildered as a child’s. _“Yes, the members will supply you with recommendations for the party, and your job is to email them through the app. As with any party, the more the merrier!”_

She took his last exclamation as a hint to invite as many guests as she could, so she let out a small laugh. She cleared her throat.

_“_ So, about what I said regarding compensation…” she swallowed. “I know I brought it up in the chat, but I just wanted to ask again, I’m sorry to badger you about it.”

_“I understand where you’re coming from, I’m sure this entire thing is very sudden to you. Before I answer though, I must tell you that you need to come here in order to test the game, considering it’s not out on the market yet.”_

“Hah?” she loudly voiced. “Where exactly is that?” she sounded defensive, but she didn’t care.

_“Allow me to explain.”_ He cleared his throat. _“Your compensation would include residence in our facility, along with being fed regular meals. You’ll also get a monetary reward at the end of the testing session for all of your time and effort. The testing session should take around 11-12 days. Because you’re my first tester, I want to make sure you’re as comfortable as possible.”_

“Twelve days…?” she repeated out loud. “Where exactly is this facility? I’m going to be honest: I’m a bit uneasy about this. I don’t even know who you are.”

_“I understand. Our facility is in the mountains, you may not be familiar with it. To maintain confidentiality before the release, the game is being developed in a sparsely developed area.”_ He explained very calmly, as if he anticipated pushback. _“You don’t have to waste gas money or bus faire by coming out this way, I can send you my best driver to come and pick you up if that would make you feel more comfortable. I would just need your address.”_

“I…” her eyes were wide and her mouth was agape. “Can I have a second to think about this, please?”

_“Absolutely, whatever you need.”_

She paced around the apartment nervously. He wasn’t forcing her to do anything, and he was answering every single one of her questions. It was like he was going out of his way to make sure she wouldn’t feel as panicked as she was, and she couldn’t tell if it was purposeful or not. If anything, he probably knew this request was outlandish, and he was fully prepared for an even more panicked response. She swallowed; it’s not like she had that much to lose. And if there really was money at the end of a game-testing deal, she wasn’t about to turn it down.

“Okay, I’ll do it.” Her voice shook despite her answer. “Should I send you my address in the chatroom?”

He seemed elated. _“Yes, that would be fine!”_

“Okay. Uh. I live in a second story apartment, so I can try to meet your driver in front of the complex. I’m going to pack a small bag, I hope that’s okay? Uh…” she was scrambling for words.

He let out another laugh.

_“You really are funny. Oh, there is one thing I forgot to mention…don’t freak out.”_

“Oh my god, what?” she was mid-walk and stopped.

_“You may not be allowed to see the route to our facility to avoid you leaking details on the game or where it’s being created. My driver will have more details for you when he arrives, but I figured I would let you know in advance.”_

There was a pregnant pause with her mouth hanging open. She finally finished her stride that she was frozen in when Unknown told her not to freak out.

“I…okay…?” she agreed, confused.

_“Great!”_ he seemed to be clapping. _“I hope to see you soon, Emily. I promise, you’re going to have a great time. It’ll be like paradise. Send me your address through the chatroom and I’ll send my driver ASAP.”_

He hung up, leaving her there with the phone still pressed to her ear, slack-jawed.

_Did that just happen?_

She returned to the chatroom and typed in her address.

_I’m seriously doing this?_

She hit “send”.

_I’m doing this._

**Unknown: You’re a blessing. :) My driver will be there within the hour. Thank you so much, Emily, for giving us your time to test the game! I hope to see you soon!**

“An hour?!” she shouted at the screen.

She ran to her bedroom to locate a backpack to use. It had to be big enough to hold a good amount of clothing, as well as her sketchbook and some notebooks. Something told her that she wouldn’t be permitted to have her laptop in the facility, so she left it on her desk. She packed as many shorts as she could, along with shirts and undergarments. Running into her bathroom, she grabbed hygiene products as well. This was all so strange to her, and it was all happening so fast, she kept forgetting it actually _was_ happening.

“Phone charger…sketchbook…materials…notebooks…clothes…” she ran through a quick checklist as she inspected everything in her bag. “Is this it? I have everything, including my wallet…I think I’m good.”

Looking at the clock, it had been thirty minutes since Unknown gave her the confirmation that the driver was coming. As she unplugged all of the appliances in her house, locked the windows, and shut off all of the lights, she realized that she still had no idea what this guy’s name was. She kept referring to him as “Unknown” in her head, and she knew she had to ask him, or maybe even his driver, what his name really was. It was too late to turn back at this point, so she knew she was in this for the long haul. She grabbed her house keys and exited her apartment, looking up and down the halls to see if, somehow, somebody was going to run out and stop her. But alas, nobody came. She locked her door, shoved the key in her shorts pocket, and walked to the stairwell that led to the bottom floor of the complex. When she exited the building, she was met with the heat of the late summer morning. Taking a deep breath, she clutched her backpack straps and felt her heart beat rapidly.

_Just calm down…calm down…you’re going to test a game, in a supposedly safe facility, with a reward at the end. You’re going to be absolutely fine. Fine!_

She took her phone out of her pocket and input the code in order to turn on her “Find My Iphone” setting.

_If I am about to get kidnapped, I’d might as well turn this on so people can find me. Or my corpse. Whichever._

A black car pulled up along the sidewalk, and she slowly approached it as the passenger side window rolled down. A man leaned over and looked at her through the window.

“Are you Miss Emily?” he asked her.

“Yes, that’s me.” She nodded. “Are you from the gaming center?”

“Yes, that’s me.” He smiled. “Make yourself comfortable, you can place your bag in the back seat.”

She opened the back door of the car and placed her backpack on the seat. Stepping into the passenger side, she buckled herself in and let out an exhale. The driver cleared his throat, making her look at him.

“I know you were told this on the phone, but you are not allowed to know the location of the facility. If you could wear this during the trip,” he handed her a black, silk blindfold. “it would be very much appreciated,”

“Uh.” She looked at it, taking it hesitantly. “Okay…”

“Thank you for understanding.”

The blindfold was soft around her eyes, and as she predicted, it completely blacked out her sight. She felt the car move; move away from her safe apartment. Her fists were clenched so tightly that she suspected her knuckles were turning white. The driver cleared his throat, and she felt him glance at her. However, he didn’t say anything. That made her uneasy. The ride was a smooth one for the most part, she estimated about twenty minutes, until they hit a bumpy stretch. She remembered that Unknown mentioned the facility was in the mountains, but she didn’t think he meant going off road.

“Um…excuse me, sir?” she asked. “I forgot to ask…what is your boss’s name?”

“You will know soon enough.” He answered.

_YEA, THAT DOESN’T SOUND SHADY AT ALL._

Getting the hint that this driver wasn’t the speaking type, she tried her best to relax and focus on the turns of the road. If anything came down to her escaping, outside of a body bag, she would be ready with the know-how of where to go. While the negative scenarios were meant to be played as jokes in her head, they were having the opposite effect and making her wish she would have stayed home. After about fifteen more minutes, the car came to a slow stop. She raised her hands to remove the blindfold, but the driver stopped her from doing so.

“Not yet, I apologize. You must keep it on until instructed.”

She lowered her hands to be folded onto her lap once more. After a few moments of silence, with the car’s engine still running, the driver spoke again.

“Ah. Mr. Ray has arrived.”

Her car door opened, which startled her at first. A familiar voice met her ears when her head moved in the direction of the open door.

“Welcome, Emily. I’ve been waiting. Welcome to this wonderful place.” His voice was somewhat calming. “It must not have been easy for you to make the decision to come here… Thank you for trusting me.”

A hand touched her shoulder lightly, as if to guide her out of the car. She kept her eyes as low as she could in hopes to get a sight at the ground through a possible crack in the blindfold. It slightly worked, she could see fragments of her own feet trying to leave the vehicle.

“Take my hand, let me help you.” The voice offered.

Extending her hand, she was met with a gloved one with a hesitant touch.

“Thank you.” She was escorted out of the car. “You’re the one I spoke to on the phone. I recognize your voice.”

“I hoped you would.” She could hear the smile in his words. “I see you brought a bag. I’ll have the driver take it to your room after my staff finishes looking through it for any weapons or hazardous materials. I’m sure you understand.”

“Security, I’m sure.” She swallowed.

With her hand still in his, he slowly, carefully, guided her as he walked forward.

“I’m not sure if the driver mentioned this to you already, but my name is Ray.” He told her. “I can’t wait to show you around the facility, and I can’t wait to have you start testing the game. As I waited, I prepared this and that to make sure everything would be to your liking.”

Based on his explanation, she was beginning to feel less like a game tester and more like a piece of royalty. She was still suspicious because she had to keep the blindfold on, but her nervousness was beginning to ebb away now that she was in a familiar presence, even though she hadn’t laid eyes on Ray yet.

“I’m sorry, but you can’t take the blindfold off until we reach your room. After that, however, you may take it off and relax.”

“My room?” she blurted out, not realizing the thought had formed in her head yet.

He chuckled.

“Yes, we discussed on the phone how you’d be staying here during the testing process. I made a whole room up just for you, as I want to ensure your comfort while playing my game.” He cleared his throat. “However, I’m a little nervous because I don’t know what you like. I organized it as best as I could, so I hope you enjoy it.”

_He decorated a room just for me? Why does he sound so nervous?_

“You didn’t have to go through so much trouble just for me.” She told him. “I’m just happy for the opportunity, Ray.”

“You’re so humble.” The grip on her hand tightened, but only for a second. “I find that admirable. But you have no idea how much of a relief it was to hear you accept the proposal. You’ll be a big help.”

“Of course, it isn’t a problem at all.”

She wasn’t sure if her politeness was just a ploy to keep her from possibly getting killed, or if it was truly genuine because of his hospitality. Something told her to ask what would have happened if she said no to his offer, but another part of her told her to hold that in. With a swallow, she just remained grateful she hadn’t been put in a truck to be sold somewhere. Suddenly, Ray came to a stop, which made her stop as well.

“We’re here. Come, I’ll remove your blindfold.”

Remaining still, she felt two hands undo the tie on her blindfold. Their touch was patient and cautious. When the blindfold was lowered, and light met her eyes once more, she was forced to blink. Ray apologized again as she rubbed her eyes, to which she waved off in response. When her eyes opened, now adjusted to the light, she was met with a beautiful pink and white bedroom with a queen-sized bed placed in front of large windows. There was an elegant table and chairs, cushioned chairs, with a chandelier hanging above them from the ceiling. The white carpet was soft under her sandals, and she was enveloped with bright sunlight that streamed through the massive glass windows. Her eyes widened. This was _definitely_ grander than she was expecting; and once again she thought she was being treated more than just a game tester.

“So you like it?” Ray asked, walking past her and into view.

A man that appeared to be her age stood before her with white hair, sections of it pink, as if bleaching it all the way hadn’t quite worked. His green eyes were bright and rested on her, a smile as giddy as a child’s. He wore a magenta coat over a black vest and white pants. Something he wore, something she couldn’t take her eyes off of, was a blue rose pinned to his right side, on his chest.

“It’s our first time looking at one another face-to-face, isn’t it?” he tucked her blindfold away into his pocket. “I’ve been looking at you for a few minutes, so it’s a little unfair that I got to see you first.”

“You’re Ray.” She blinked.

“I am. And you’re Emily.”

She extended her hand in greeting, her skepticism fading away now that the blindfold was off. He shook her hand, watching as she continued to look around the room.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m so sorry if I’ve come off as rude or…suspecting?” she explained. “I was just so nervous…but now I think I can relax, seeing you in person.”

She walked further into the bedroom, not letting her guard down yet, and felt how soft the pillows and upholstery on the chairs were, boggled that this much effort was put into a room for her. Ray laughed as he watched her investigate the bedroom.

“It’s completely understandable, I put you in a strange situation very suddenly. I’m just happy that you’re here and that you can test my game. And…if you don’t mind me saying so…”

She looked up at him from the other side of the room.

“You’re cuter in person, if your voice wasn’t cute enough.” He looked away, face red. “I was so surprised when I saw you pull up in the car, I almost thought there was a mistake. But you got out of the car and greeted me…I was taken aback.”

Blushing, she turned her head to look back down at the pillow she had been petting. That was rather forward of him, but she supposed that it was innocent enough. He seemed sweet, so while it was sudden for him to say such a thing, she let it slide.

“Thank you.” She swallowed. “I’m not used to people calling it cute. My voice I mean.” She felt a little awkward, so she deflected. “You’re handsome yourself, if you don’t mind me saying so.”

Ray looked at her, equally as surprised as she had been.

“In case you felt awkward about complimenting me, now we’re even.” She smiled. “Okay?”

He nodded, clearing his throat before getting to more explaining. He informed her that she could roam this floor of the building whenever she wanted to, but she would have to ask for permission if she wanted to walk around anywhere else. Before she could ask why, he went on to explain the game again. He repeated the fact that the game was centered around her putting a list of guests together for a fundraising party, all while having the ability to chat with the cute members that made up the association. As he explained, there was a certain trend that she caught onto. Ray _continuously_ made it an explicit point that the character she would be speaking to were AIs that he created, that they weren’t real, or that she shouldn’t get too attached to them. The frequency of which he brought that up made her wonder why, and it was a point she decided to pin in her brain to think about later.

“Now when you first enter the chatroom of this association, they’ll seem suspicious of you at first.” He explained. “The concept is that somebody hacked their app in order for you to enter their chatroom.”

_That…sounds a little familiar._

She squinted, nodding in understanding.

_Kind of like what he did to my phone. Unless that’s a gimmick and a way to promote the premise, which is extremely sketchy._

“This concept shows that you have strategy in getting to know the members, and that you have the ability to form relationships despite the situation. It’s no fun if everybody trusts you right away.” He smiled again.

She rubbed her chin and thought about the concept.

“And what if they ask me questions about this hacker? I assume I don’t know anything about how I entered the chatroom.” she walked around while talking. “Oh, what if they try to become self-aware about the fact they’re in a game? I sometimes like it when game characters do a bit of fourth-wall humor.”

“You can’t reveal any information about me, or about the fact you’re playing a game.” His tone held a pinch of warning to it. “If you do that, it will ruin everything and you’ll have to start all over again. That’s really important.” He looked at her seriously. “You need to promise me that you’ll mention nothing that we’ve discussed, or will discuss, to the AIs.”

She nodded, eyes wide in surprise. Ray had made quite the 180 when talking about these characters. He was either _extremely_ passionate about the game going the way he wanted it, or there were some serious feelings behind these characters. She didn’t want to ask what would happen if she decided to speak the truth. When she gave her word, Ray visibly relaxed again.

“One last thing.”

“What is it?”

“If you’re noticing they’re having a lot of difficulty accepting you into the organization, just mention that you were sent by a woman named Rika and were told to host a party.”

_An interesting wrench._

“I assume that if I ask who that is, I’ll come to find they’ll answer me themselves…am I right?”

“You catch on quickly, Emily.” He praised. “Please tell me how you feel as you play the game. Your impressions, what you think of the characters, how your chats are going…” he placed his hand over the flower on his chest. “I want to know exactly how you feel about everything. Do you think you can do that for me?”

She smiled and gave him a supportive thumbs up, other hand cocked on her hip.

“You can count on me, Ray! I’ll help you get your game up and running. I’m just the girl for the job, I assure you.”

He placed the palms of his hands together in front of his mouth, partially hiding an exciting grin as she supported him with such a gesture. Ray lowered his hands again, sticking one out between them.

“May I see your phone so I can install the game? It shouldn’t take too long, just a few moments. Then you can play right away and get to the fun.”

Emily fished through her shorts pockets for her phone, which she placed into his hand. He had already hacked into it, somewhat, so more or less, she knew there was no point in refusing handing it over. He unlocked it without asking for the passcode, which surprised her, and he began typing furiously with his thumbs. She had no idea exactly what he was doing, but she also knew she wouldn’t be able to understand it if she asked. After a few more moments of standing there, watching him do who-knows-what with her device, he handed it back to her.

“All done, it should finish installing and updating in a few minutes. As soon as it’s done, you can jump right in. Do you have any more questions before I leave you to get to it?”

The announcement of his departure was sudden, so she felt like she quickly had to come up with an answer. Slightly flustered, she couldn’t think of anything.

“Not about the game, I don’t think! But, uh, if I need your help with anything, will there be a way I can reach you? I don’t know the layout of the building, I don’t know how busy you’ll be…I mean, could I give you a call on the messenger? Like before?”

When she realized she was rambling, it was already too late. Ray must have caught on to her anxiety, because he tilted his head forward while listening. Usually, to her, that meant she needed to get to the point and fast.

“I’m sorry, I’m rambling.” She laughed nervously. “I’m sure you have a lot of work to do, so I won’t hold you any longer!”

“If you need anything, I’ll have a member of staff nearby in case you need to reach me. It will usually be one or more of the same four people, so feel free to ask them for me. I’ll do my best to communicate with you as you test the game, as I am busy with modifying it.”

As Ray spoke, the driver from earlier entered the bedroom with Emily’s backpack. There appeared to be a piece of paper pinned to it, and her eyes followed the man as Ray continued. The backpack was placed on one of the chairs in the center of the room, the man leaving as silently as he arrived.

“I wanted to thank you for listening to me.” He smiled. “My voice is usually soft and unnoticed, it means a lot to me that you trust me and is someone who does listen. I know I’ve thanked you a lot in the time we’ve talked, but this means more than you know.

Her eyes rested on him and she squinted.

“I like your voice.” She casually smiled. “It suits you. You’re not an intimidating man, Ray. It’s soft to you, but to me, it’s calming and professional. Don’t kick yourself because of it; there are more people who would be willing to listen to you than you know.”

His posture straightened and his eyes widened a bit, as if he wasn’t expecting another compliment. Somebody outside the room called for him, and he turned around to address them, stating that he’d be there in a moment. With a sigh, he turned back to her.

“I need to get some work done, so I’ll let you go. I’ll try to talk to you later.” He turned and began to leave. “I hope you can relax and enjoy the game, Emily.”

Ray closed the door behind him, leaving her alone in her grand bedroom to her own thoughts, a backpack, and a hacked phone with a mystery game on it. Why was she so nervous back there? Was she really that shocked that Ray was, so far, a genuinely nice person? Shaking her head of strange thoughts, she approached her backpack and ripped the pinned piece of paper off of it. Looking it over, she narrowed her eyes at what was written on the paper.

**Member: Emily             Height: 5’6”        Weight: 192 lbs.**

**H/C: Brown                   E/C: Hazel           Age: 23**

**Build: Sturdy                                             Status: Healthy**

            “How do they know my weight? That’s a bit rude.” She scoffed. “What the hell do they mean by “sturdy”?” she tossed the paper on the table. “Why is this even pinned here? Was it a part of the search they did on my bag…?” she opened the main pouch. “Did they run a background check on me then? That would make the most sense, I suppose…?”

            Going through her bag to make sure everything was in there, she heard her phone make a noise. Ray must have turned the volume on when he programmed the game, because she could have sworn she had it on vibrate. When she picked it up, she unlocked it to see an unfamiliar app that she assumed was the game. It was a simple black and gray icon with “RFA” in yellow letters.

            “I guess this is the game.” She said to herself.

            Looking at the bed, she decided to make her way over to it. Pressing her hand into the mattress, she felt how soft it was and how it molded to the form of her hand. The comforter smelled of flowers and was fluffy to the touch. Removing her sandals at the foot of it, she finally felt just how soft the carpet was under her toes. She assumed that the bed was most likely safe, and not laced with poison, so she climbed onto it and lied down on her stomach. Holding her phone with two hands, she stared at the app.

            “Okay.” She breathed. “Let’s go.”

            She tapped the icon and the screen turned black, green coding lining it as if it were being hacked. It reminded her of what happened to her phone when Ray first contacted her, and it fit the concept that he was telling her about previously. The phone also made a loud beeping noise, as if it were an error alarm. Suddenly, she was thrust into a screen with a daytime background, chat bubbles already existent.

          **Emily has entered the chatroom.**

                The chat bubbles were varying colors with profile pictures next to them, indicating a difference between the people talking. Everything was happening quickly, like an actual group chat. What she found strange was that her presence didn’t set anybody off immediately. The members of the chatroom appeared to be talking about some sort of book that they saw on television. Considering her presence wasn’t recognized yet, she decided to hold back and decipher which member was which, and perhaps grapple their personalities. Zen was a gray chat bubble, and he seemed to be the most upset about the book being sold and doing well. Yoosung, a green chat bubble, was neutral about it. He appeared to be the one to bring up the book in the first place. She tapped her word bar to try and type, and her keyboard popped up, but before she had a chance to say anything, she was shocked by an emoji from another member. The emoji was chibi and animated, and it appeared to be a happy one.

            “That is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.” She said to herself with a smile.

            The sender of the emoji had a strange name; 707. He seemed to be the cheeriest so far, with a red chat bubble. After some more time being spent bickering about the book, a fourth person appeared. Jumin Han, with a purple chat bubble, and the apparent author of the book being talked about. Right after, a fifth member appeared with a tan chat bubble, Jaehee Kang. Judging from the profile pictures and emojis, she recognized all five members from the promo image that Ray had sent her in the chatroom earlier. Content with the conversation she had analyzed, she believed she already knew which character she was going to pursue. She was amazed at how naturally the members talked amongst one another, along with how they looked so _life-like._ Going to tap her text bar again, she was surprised by a _sixth_ member with a light blue chat bubble. He looked unfamiliar; he wasn’t included in the promo picture like the rest of them.

            “Well hello, V… Pleasure to make your acquaintance.” She smirked to herself. “I’ll have to ask Ray if I can pursue him, since he wasn’t in the promo picture.”

            While she began analyzing the mystery character’s picture, she realized that her presence in the chatroom was finally noticed. 707 began panicking and hogging the chatroom with alarm sound effects, along with a series of shocked emojis. For some reason, this made her a bit nervous.

            **707: Intruder! Intruder!**

**Zen: Where, in your house? Or in the chatroom?**

**V: What did I just see…?**

**V: Emily?**

                She got her fingers ready to type, she just had to wait for the perfect opportunity. For some reason, her palms were sweating. The members continued to yell at 707 for not having a strong enough security system, and she didn’t have a place to get a word in edgewise. She hoped that maybe…

            **Jumin Han: V, did you invite a new member aboard?**

**V: No, I don’t recall such a thing… This is my first time seeing that name too.**

                In that golden moment, nobody in the chat said a word, so she took this as her chance to type a response.

            **Emily: Uh, hello there! My name is Emily, I’m new to the messenger. I wanted to say something sooner, but I didn’t want to interrupt your conversation!**

                _I can type in real time, like an actual group chat? This isn’t something you normally see... This is extremely sophisticated for a game._

**707: That’s oddly polite of you, despite the fact you’re intruding on a private server.**

**Zen: Seven, did you distribute this messenger as a public app?**

**707 sent a confused emoji that was shrugging and bobbing back and forth; afterwards denying what Zen had asked him. She started typing again.**

**Emily: I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you all. I’m sure this isn’t 707’s fault!**

707 completely ignored her, instead deflecting the situation onto a strange challenge he received in his email inbox. It was as if her response meant nothing to them at all. Ray was right, they were extremely closed off to her because of her intrusion in the messenger. As 707 explained how he pranked another server with hacking into it, she looked up from her phone screen to look around the room. She had that eerie sixth sense again, similar to the one she had in her own apartment. She felt as if she were being watched as she typed in the game.

**Zen: What in the world have you been doing?!**

**707: I couldn’t help it! They were bragging that they were the #1 World Ranked security system and that nobody could hack it! They must have tampered with the messenger as revenge…**

**Jaehee Kang: So, in conclusion…the intrusion of this stranger may have something to do with Luciel’s private affairs…**

**Zen: So, is this person from the hacker association that Seven’s talking about?**

To Emily, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to drop the bomb about her affiliation to “Rika”, but the sudden disappearance of the character called “V” somewhat worried her. Even though this was the first time in the messenger, had she scared that character off? Was he even approachable at all?

**Jumin Han: As the head of the RFA, V, I believe it’s time for you to take action and enter the spotlight.**

**V: I’m actually having a meltdown myself…**

Emily’s heart jumped anxiously.

**V: I never expected someone to break into an app that Luciel created…**

**Emily: I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to give anybody a meltdown! If you guys are suspicious of me, I can maybe answer some of your questions if you have any?**

**Yoosung: That’s a good idea!**

**Jumin Han: I highly doubt that it’ll tell the truth.**

**Yoosung: You never know until you try~! Where are you from, Emily?**

She swallowed. While she knew this was a game, there was a screaming instinct telling her not to attempt to break the rule of confidentiality that she had with Ray. However, if this was a game, was there really any way of that information being leaked? Besides, she didn’t even know where she was. Would they even care if she were truthful or not? According to Ray, they were just AI.

**Emily: I’m sorry…I can’t tell you that.**

**Jaehee Kang: I see you really don’t have the intention to tell us your identity. Do not make promises you can’t keep.**

_Ouch._

**707: What is this…**

**Yoosung: What is it? Did you find something?**

**707: I can’t track the location at all!**

With a sigh, she felt bad that the members were reacting to her so harshly, and she felt bad that Jaehee had to scold her. She didn’t anticipate that the first question would be her location, but she honestly should have.

**Jumin Han: Emily, allow me to change the question.**

**Emily: Of course, go ahead.**

**Jumin Han: For what purpose did you log-in to this messenger?**

**Should she drop the bomb about being sent by “Rika”? No, it seemed too soon. If she wanted to have a natural conversation with them, she needed to think of something better to say.**

**Emily: I was told to host a party.**

Just when she thought she should have worded her message better, the chat blew up. One member after another began questioning her claim. Jumin pointed out that her phrasing made it seem like she was told by someone about the party, and other members just seemed confused.

**V: By party…are you talking about the RFA fundraising party?**

As she was about to answer V, she saw other members jump in to question her even more.

**Jaehee Kang: If you really did come here knowing about the party, that only makes you more suspicious.**

The members began discussing about how even though she had knowledge about the party, the only one that could make a final decision was V, the head of the organization. Yoosung tried telling them that he wasn’t the only one who could make a decision, but everybody sprung to shut him down immediately. He seemed exceptionally sensitive when it came to matters with V or about him, which she made a mental note of for later. Suddenly, she saw 707 ask V if they should deny her access to the messenger all together.

**Jumin Han: Yoosung, I understand your stance, but we have an unexplained incident on our hands, so you should watch yourself when going to make emotional outbursts about having another party. Only V has the right to make the decision. I find this very odd, but V, I suggest thinking about your next step carefully.**

She needed to say something before she got kicked out. Her fingers worked like the wind while 707 decided to type one of the articles regarding the rules of the association. She hit “send” at the perfect time, before anybody else could make a claim or an order.

Emily: I understand you’re wary of me and that you want to possibly block me from the messenger, but I’m only here because Rika sent me. That much I can tell you.

It was like she set off a bomb in the chatroom. The messages seemed to flood in all at the same time, startling her and making her scroll furiously to keep track of their responses.

**Yoosung: WHAT?????**

**Zen: OMG**

**707: Hold on, I think there’s something wrong with my eyes.**

**Yoosung: Rika? Ur someone Rika sent?**

**Jumin Han: Astonishing…**

**Yoosung: She contacted you, Emily? When…???**

**Jumin Han: V is here with us, I suggest you refrain from thoughtlessly mentioning Rika.**

“What do you mean, ‘thoughtlessly mentioning’ her? Is V okay?” she said to herself aloud. “Oh my god, what did I just do? _Did I hurt V?!”_ she clutched her phone a little too tightly.

**V: No. It’s okay. I’m okay.**

**V: Emily…I’m not sure how you know Rika, but she is no longer with us, here in this world…she left our side six months ago.**

“OH MY GOD, I’M AN ASSHOLE.” She shouted at her phone screen.

**Yoosung: Now hold on, that might not be true.**

**Jumin Han: Now what gives you the reason to say that?**

**Yoosung: That’s just how I believe it…**

**707: V, should I block this Emily person’s access?**

“Fuck…” her eyes widened and she lowered her face into the mattress, her hands still clutching the phone. “I’m gonna get a “game over”…”

**Yoosung: NOOOOOO!!!! WAITTT! Don’t cut off yet, she might know something about Rika! Aren’t you guys even curious?!**

**Zen: I’m curious…but more suspicious.**

**Jumin Han: I am also coming to the conclusion that this person might be dangerous.**

**Yoosung: I can’t calm down…I didn’t even get to see any evidence that Rika was dead…! Her own family! V, you were her fiancé, how can’t you want answers?!**

**V: Everybody, please calm down and listen to me. I wasn’t going to ask Luciel to restrict her access.**

“Holy shit, what?” she whispered, blinking in surprise.

**V: It’s actually the opposite. Luciel, I want to make a call to Emily. Would you be able to connect us?**

**707: Seriously? You want to call her? Should…I connect?**

**V: Yes. There’s something that I’d wish to ask.**

**Emily: V…thank you. I don’t know what you’re going to ask me, but I promise I’ll answer what I can. I know my words mean nothing to any of you right now, but please, put me through.**

Her message had sent before she even thought about typing it. She was really anxious about proving herself to these AI; they felt more like a real organization than a series of code and numbers.

**707: The fact that Emily is here means that a connection has already been made with the rest of us, but V is on manual mode. I’m going to put him through, and the connection will be complete. I hope you’re ready for this, V.**

**Jumin Han: Because it’s V, I know he must have carefully thought about and assessed the situation. I hope this is not a hasty decision.**

**V: Thank you for your concern, all of you. There is something I must ask Emily, even if there are risks I need to endure. I’d like to think Rika sent you with the hopes of our parties to continue, even when she’s gone.**

**Zen: If that is what you think, V…then it could be true.**

**V: Emily, I’ll give you a call in a bit.**

“Wait…call me? How? Are the phone calls scripted?” she asked the screen, then experienced a shocked moment of silence. “V’s going to call me?!”

With red cheeks and shaking fingers, she quickly typed a response.

**Emily: Ofg coyrse!**

“FUCK.”

**Emily: I mean, of course! I’m sorry about the typo, that statement just surprised me! I’ll be expecting your call!**

**Zen: Hahahahahaha, Emily’s nervous about V going to call her.**

**Jumin Han: While I know the final decision about holding parties again is up to V, I still feel concerned about the fact that Emily’s identity remains a mystery.**

**Jaehee Kang: I agree. There is much about her that we don’t know. I don’t think we can put her in the role of Rika until we know more information.**

**Yoosung: What kind of person do you think Emily is?**

**Emily: I…I’m not a shady person. I know that sounds even shadier, and that the situation itself seems suspicious, but I promise you that I’m not harmful. I only want to be helpful to the organization if I can be, and I hope to get to know some of you, if not all of you, if I can.**

**Jumin Han: Even so, there is no proof of your innocence at this stage.**

**Zen: Umm…I don’t think Emily is a bad person.**

**707: Yes. However, as she said, the situation itself is fishy. She herself hasn’t shown anything related to malicious intent, so I’m going to stand with the belief she isn’t a shady person. However, I just can’t believe a location didn’t pop up when I did my search.**

**Yoosung: Then…are we having parties again?**

**V: Yes. We will. Because Emily is going to take Rika’s place. But since we don’t know much about her identity, we will put a temporary hold on the idea. I ask you all to be patient during this time.**

**Jaehee Kang: I must say, Emily’s situation is perplexing. Is it really okay for a non-member to take Rika’s place?**

**V: That’s actually what I wanted to talk with her about. I was planning on making Emily an official member of the RFA, if she agrees.**

**Jumin Han: That seems abrupt, doesn’t it?**

**Emily: If it’s okay with you V, I can give you my answer over the phone. I’m still digesting the whole situation myself, even though I’m the one who entered the chat like this.**

**V: Of course, but I suggest you cooperate. Since you have come here to host parties, our purposes are the same.**

For the most part, beginning with Zen and Yoosung, the members agreed to V’s plan about opening the organization back up to parties. Jaehee was still highly skeptical of her existence in the messenger, which V tried to qualm by putting 707 in charge of running background checks on her. Emily gave her permission, and he was polite when asking for it. He then told the chat that the simplest of solutions was to simply block her access, but he didn’t believe that such an action was necessary, which V agreed with.

**V: Speaking of which, Luciel, there is something I need to talk to you about. I’ll call you right now.**

**Yoosung: One of those secret talks again… Emily, just so you know in advance, V keeps a lot of secrets.**

**V: Yoosung…**

**Emily: He’s the head of a fundraising association who just had his messenger breached by a stranger. This stranger then claims she was sent to host one of his association’s parties. I’m going to assume that this phone call is with good reason and that he wants to talk to his head of research and security about it. I’m not going to hold something like that against him.**

**707: Wow.**

**V: Yoosung, I’ll explain everything to you when it’s time. I’m sorry. Allow me to step out first; I’ll call you in a bit, Emily. Just give me a moment to call Luciel.**

**Emily: Of course.**

**V has left the chatroom.**

**707: OhmygodhecalledrightawayIneedtotakethisI’msorrybye**

**707 has left the chatroom.**

**Yoosung: I wonder what kind of secrets they’re talking about again…I don’t understand.**

**Jumin Han: It’s simple; Seven is the head of security and confidential materials for the RFA. It’s only a matter of business.**

**Yoosung: You only defend V like this because you’re childhood friends.**

**Jaehee Kang: Before you go any further, there is something I’ve wanted to say for some time now.**

**Jaehee Kang: Is it really okay to be talking about our personal information when we don’t know what kind of person Emily is?**

**Zen: I don’t think we talked too much about ourselves. Besides, if she’s going to be here in the chatroom, she’ll get to know this information gradually anyway.**

**Jumin Han: I suppose it wouldn’t be harmful to be cautious, at least until we hear otherwise. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to leave now as well. Assistant Kang, if you’ll join me.**

**Jaehee Kang: Of course, Mr. Han.**

**Jumin Han: I’ll be watching you as well, Emily. Have a good day.**

**Jumin Han has left the chatroom.**

**Jaehee Kang has left the chatroom.**

**Zen: So many of us are leaving at once, but…I need to go as well. I have a call from the Director that I can’t ignore.**

**Emily: Whatever you need! I know we’ll get in touch again. Take your call.**

**Zen: Thank you~ Have a good day, Emily.**

**Zen has left the chatroom.**

**Yoosung: ……**

**Emily: Are you all right, Yoosung?**

**Yoosung: I just can’t believe it…that you were sent by Rika. V and the others may not trust you, but if you were sent with her intentions…you can’t be a bad person. Right? That’s what I want to believe.**

**Emily: If you ever need anything, just ask, okay? I know this is a lot of information and it’s probably overloading you.**

**Yoosung: I’m sorry, I’m getting too emotional. I’m going to go organize my thoughts.**

**Emily: Whatever you need. Let’s talk again, okay?**

**Yoosung: Yes! Please…**

**Yoosung has left the chatroom.**

**Emily has left the chatroom.**

Sitting up in her bed, she looked down at her screen. Once she exited the messenger, she was brought to a page that showed all of the members faces. Adjusting her legs so she could sit crisscross, she tapped on each one to see their “profiles”. Jaehee and Jumin were communicating through their statuses, and each of them had a cover image that matched their current mood. She assumed this was the main interface of the app; there was a selection for the chatroom, to make phone calls, send private texts, send emails, and to look through shared media that was exchanged. It was very sophistically made, and she was impressed. As she looked at the small icons that were the members’ faces, there was a blank one. When she tapped on it, her name was next to a blank space for a profile picture. Just as she made her discovery, her phone began to ring and vibrate at the same time, which surprised her. V’s profile picture and name came up on screen, and she accepted the call within a few seconds.

“Hello?” she answered.

A male voice responded. _“Oh, good, the phone seems to be working all right.”_

“Yes, I can hear you just fine.” She smiled.

_“You sound flustered. I did tell you I was going to call you, didn’t I?”_

The voice was soothing and smooth, like milk chocolate. However, it wasn’t overbearingly masculine. She could tell his voice was deep, but it was also soft. She felt comfortable in its presence.

“Yea, you did.” She cleared her throat. “I just didn’t know what you sounded like, so I was a little surprised.”

_“Allow me to formally introduce myself then, in my voice.”_ He cleared his throat. _“I am V, the head of the RFA. It’s a pleasure to hear your voice as well, Emily.”_

“The pleasure is mine. I apologize for our abrupt meeting, I must have surprised you.”

_“I have to admit it, you did. But let’s put that behind us for now, shall we? I only want to move forward. I called you because there is something that I’d like to ask you. I know I mentioned it in the chatroom already, but I wanted to formally ask you over the phone so you could hear it for yourself.”_

“You can ask me anything, go ahead.”

She slid off the side of her bed, her hand resting at her chin. Something made her feel nervous; she felt as if she needed to pace in order to get the edge off. Something about this phone call seemed too real for it to be scripted. There were real pauses, real hesitations, real chuckles.

_“Can you tell me how you know about Rika?”_

Her breathing caught in her throat and she immediately stood up straight, taking a few steps forward.

“I…” she swallowed.

_Ray didn’t give me any other information about her other than she’s the one who sent me! Think, Emily, think!_

“I’m sorry that this may seem lackluster…but I received a letter from her, an invitation of sorts. It was a very somber one, stating that I was supposed to throw a party in her place. So I’m here, and now I’d like to help however I can.”

V was silent on the other end, which made her nervous, but when he finally sighed she could relax.

_“I see…which means you probably wouldn’t know anything that I would ask about Rika. Very well, thank you for answering me. I won’t question you anymore, since you’ve definitely endured enough of it already.”_

She let out a small laugh.

_I guess the AI picks up on certain words and has an emulated response, such as “go ahead”, “of course”, and other things to keep the conversation moving. Ray must be pretty smart!_

_“You have a nice laugh.”_ He chuckled on the other end.

_Wait, it picked up on my laugh?!_

“Thank you, I don’t get that often.” She said without thinking. “I hope that I can get to know you, and the other members, and you can get to know me.” She moved her hand across the comforter on the bed.

_“I plan to. I want to know what kind of person you are. I think we’ll be able to get along with each other just fine…and I feel as if I can talk to you. Because we share the same goal of holding parties, I’ll try to help you to the best of my ability.”_

“I appreciate it, thank you. I’ll ask you questions when I have them. You can leave it to me!”

He chuckled again.

_“I’m glad. I look forward to your future performances…but for now I must leave. Thank you again for cooperating with me and answering my questions.”_

“Of course, I understand your position and why you have to do these things. I’ll let you go so you can do what you need to do.”

_“Thank you for saying that. Have a nice day, Emily…and welcome to the RFA.”_

He hung up on her before she could say goodbye. Looking at her phone, she was once again staring at the app’s main interface. She had a myriad of text messages from the members, texts that she would get to after she cleared her head. Either Ray was a genius with how immerse he could make a mobile phone app, or there was something else going on. However, she did have to consider how “into it” she got with mobile dating games, so maybe that was why she was getting this sensation. Perhaps she was overthinking it. After all, there must be a reason why he wants everything to be so confidential. Her phone emitted a ding, and she saw that she had a text from Ray.

**_“I hope you enjoyed your first chatroom! You can talk to the members in the chatroom whenever they enter, like you did just now. I’ll check on you periodically, and if you need anything, just let somebody know. I’ll try to check my phone more often, but you can also reach me through text here. I hope you enjoy the game, Emily.”_ **

Ray’s text, in a way, reeled her back in from the chatroom. Him reminding her that it was a game seemed to help, but there was still a part of her that wasn’t sure. She returned to the blank profile of herself, without a picture and without a status. If she was going to play the game to the fullest, she would have to change that. She was never good at taking selfies, but it wasn’t like anybody was going to really look at this. Holding the phone out in front of her, she smiled and held a peace sign up to her face. After a cluster of photos had been taken, she surveyed them to see which one was the best. Her face sunk as she scrolled.

“Ugh…my face looks like a planet.” She poked her cheeks. “I mean…the lighting is okay, I guess? Fuck it, I’m posting it.”

On her profile, she tapped the empty bubble and submitted the photo to represent her face, the newest member of the RFA. It was herself with the pink and white pillows on her new bed in the background. There was a selection for a cover photo as well, where she posted the picture of the view out of her old apartment window. Finally, she examined the box to put a status. With a smile, she typed it in.

_“I’ll do whatever I can for you, RFA!”_

**Author's Note:**

> Mystic Messenger is owned by Cheritz. The only thing I own here is my own damn self.


End file.
